Sunday, October 23, 2016

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

30th Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Last week we heard the
parable about the widow whose prayers were answered because of her persistence.
Today, we also deal with the question of whose prayers will be answered. In
today's first reading from the Book of Sirach we are told that God "hears
the cry of the oppressed." "The prayer of the lowly pierces the
clouds; it does not rest until it reaches its goal." How unlike our own
society where the largest donors are the ones who get the most attention from
our leaders.

In today's passage from St.
Luke, our Lord addresses a parable "to those who were convinced of their
own righteousness and despised everyone else." It is the famous story of
the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. Let's
look at the Pharisee's prayer first.

O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of
humanity--

greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax
collector.

I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.

I'm not a big fan of video
games but I know that some games require the player to get past a number of
obstacles of increasing difficulty before reaching the treasure or final goal.
However, at the very end there is often a obstacle or monster that can't be
passed or killed. Just when you're almost home, you're zapped or killed and you
have to start all over again.

These games are very much
like life itself. For just like the Pharisee we can spend a lifetime overcoming
obstacles. Look how he got past obstacles like greed, dishonesty, and adultery.
He's even disciplined himself by self sacrifice. He fasts and gives a large
part of his wealth to support the temple. Still, he is faced with the greatest
obstacle, the unpassable monster, Pride. He is not an evil man. He is a good
man. But his success in overcoming all these little hurdles has made him proud
or self-righteous.

It's really sad when we see
such pride in our leaders, whether they be politicians, businessmen, educators,
entertainers, or athletes. It's even sadder when we see it in our religious
leaders who should know better. However, pride is not just limited to the high
and mighty. How many ordinary families have been torn apart by a word or
gesture that hurt someone's feelings. Once the wound has been inflicted and the
backs have stiffened, pride sets in and prevents any reconciliation.

How often do we see ordinary
Christians, for example, acting as if they were better than anyone else?Isn't it easy for us churchgoers to say, like
the Pharisee, "thank God, I'm not like the rest of men."

A parable is not a true
story. Our Lord just uses parables to make a point. Remember that tax
collectors were despised by the Jews. It wasn't just a natural aversion to
taxes. It was common knowledge that tax collectors enriched themselves unfairly
and dishonestly. Moreover, they were regarded as traitors since they were doing
the dirty work of the hated Romans. Here is what our Lord says about the prayer
of the tax collector:

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

but beat his breast and prayed,

'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

How many of us say this kind
of prayer? I don't mean that we have to consider ourselves evil like Hitler. I
just mean that in the words of the immortal Clint Eastwood, "we have to
know our limitations." We have to realize that we are fallible, not
infallible--that our ideas and opinions might be wrong or in need of
correction. In fact, the great antidote to pride is humility and the practice
of obedience is the best way to achieve humility.

For children obedience to
parents is a necessary first step in developing humility. There is nothing
worse to see than a prideful, willful child who treats his or her parents with
contempt. Just think how much nicer life would be if teenagers practiced
humility and obedience. How many of today's marriages break up because husbands
and wives cannot defer to each others authority. Finally, even our senior
citizens find it hard to surrender their authority to their children who
musttake care of them in their old age.

It might seem that in today's
second reading St. Paul is showing a little bit of pride.We must know that when he wrote the letter to
Timothy, Paul was in a Roman prison awaiting his impending execution. He is
looking back on his life and says in all humility that if he has achieved
anything, it was all due to the Lord "who stood by me and gave me
strength." This is one of my favorite passages in scripture. Paul affirms
that he has given his own life in doing the Lord's work.